Taranaki couple want Crown to back off after land acquisition withdrawn

A Taranaki couple want the government to stop chasing them for hundreds of thousands of dollars in court costs after the Crown dropped - for now - plans to seize part of their farm for a highway project.

Tony and Debbie Pacoe have been fighting for almost a decade to prevent 11 hectares of their farm being used as part of the Mt Messenger Bypass project on State Highway 3.

While the action has now been stopped, government agency Land Information still intends to acquire the land.

Sitting on the couch in the cottage he has called home all his life, cattle farmer Tony Pascoe fought back tears as he said how he did not want to be forced off his land.

"I've spent all my life here. This is the wrong place for a road and a lot of people have told me it's the wrong place for a road.

"We've been stuck in the middle of this for a decade and I've got no regrets whatsoever fighting this because it's for every New Zealander. It's your home, it's your home.

"And it's the home of over 46 species and there's an alternative [route] and we have a road that works."

Mounted wild pigs stared menacingly down from the walls as Tony explained how he and Debbie had a meeting with new Minister for Land Information Mike Butterick in April.

Wearing his black "Save the Mangapepeke Valley" t-shirt - celebrating the very land where those trophies came from - Tony said the minister asked what he could do to help the couple move on with their lives.

"And we said 'to start with, well, have you read the Supreme Court decision?' And he said 'no, not really'.

"And I said 'well, the Supreme Court said the delegation [of authority] has been all been unlawful'. A decade of negotiations had been unlawful. It was unfounded from the start."

The Supreme Court ruled in December that officials had not followed the statutory process for the compulsory acquisition under the Public Works Act for the land required for the project.

Tony then laid out what he and Debbie wanted.

"We think you should withdraw all those hundreds of thousands of court costs, reimburse us all our costs, all our borrowing and time and the huge amount of stress and financial pressure it's put us and a whole lot of other people through and withdraw the Section 23."

Under the Public Works Act, when negotiations fail a Section 23 - a Notice of Intention to Take Land - is the first formal step towards the compulsory acquisition of private land required for public infrastructure such as roads.

The Mt Messenger Bypass is designed to replace a six-kilometre stretch of steep, narrow and windy highway in North Taranaki.

Its cost has skyrocketed to almost $600 million, $350 million of which the NZ Transport Agency has attributed to almost a decade of legal challenges and the subsequent delays caused by them.

While Butterick withdrew the existing Section 23 notice, Tony Pascoe estimated a bill of $400,000 in court costs remained hanging over the couple's heads - and a new compulsory acquisition order could still be sought.

In a statement, Linz head of regulatory process and delivery Dan White confirmed the Section 23 notice had been withdrawn and said the agency wanted to settle with the Pascoes.

"In all cases the Crown's preferred approach is to reach a negotiated outcome for the acquisition of land required for public works.

"There have been 21 offer packages made to date, with the most recent made in May 2026. No agreement has been reached. The Crown's intention is still to acquire the land."

White said the courts had been clear it was fair, sound and reasonable to acquire the land for the bypass.

Tony Pascoe said all but the latest offer were made under the flawed process.

Wrapped up against the winter chill, Debbie Pascoe said the couple had paid a heavy price for their stance.

"It's been unbelievable. When you get in your vehicle and drive to your gate to go to town to get groceries or something, and you get somebody going past me yelling and screaming at you and giving you the fingers.

"And even when we were doing hay across the road, and there were young hoons in a vehicle yelling at us, and we're just picking up hay.

"Well, you want to get a life. You don't know what you're talking about, and it hurts, it hurts deeply."

She said the battle was not just about their land.

"It's been so hard going through this process. We knew that they hadn't done things right, but the courts just went in favour of the acquiring authority and the minister all the time until we got to the Supreme Court.

"So it's very heartbreaking, because if we just fold and give in to them, they're just going to keep doing it to the next person and the next person, and ruining their lives.

Next month, the High Court will consider the removing of court costs awarded against the Pascoes and whether their legal costs should be repaid and damages awarded to them.

The transport agency said the southern section of the Mt Messenger Bypass was due to be completed late 2027.

Its estimate for finishing the entire project remained four years from when it acquired the Pascoe land.